Volute designs present a challenging geometry for meshing. Multi-block structured meshing has the advantage of reducing numerical diffusion and a higher node-to-cell count ratio, making it attractive for problems when accurately predicting performance is key. However, volute features like that of the tongue region, require a significant amount of effort to obtain a purely hexahedral mesh. Volute performance simulations depend critically on the cells nearest the boundary, as the core of the flow typically has relatively low circulation, implying hybrid meshing could potentially provide similar accuracy with more automation.

This webinar will focus on a generic volute design. Simulations were performed using Code Leo, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solver developed by ADS, on three different grid types generated with Pointwise: multi-block structured, unstructured with a hexahedral boundary layer, and unstructured with a prismatic boundary layer. The process for generating each grid will be described and the relative pros and cons regarding meshing time and ease of modification evaluated. The numerical solutions from each of the three mesh topologies will be examined for accuracy and overall solution turnaround time. The webinar will demonstrate how to

Design a fully structured mesh topology for a generic volute geometry and use the elliptic solver to improve cell quality.

Presenters will be Travis Carrigan and Dr. John Rhoads from Pointwise and Will Humber and Michael Ni from ADS.

Mr. Ni, ADS product marketing and development manager, leads the teams focused on product features, workbench development, support and training. Mr. Ni earned a B.S. degree in computer engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and has more than 10 years’ industry experience in computer architecture and software development.

Mr. Humber, ADS senior CFD engineer, is interested in heat transfer, unstructured mesh generation and optimization. His responsibilities include development of meshing and post-processing tools as well as customer support. He holds a B.S. and M.S. in Aerospace Engineering from The Pennsylvania State University.

Pointwise, Inc. is solving the top problem facing engineering analysts today – mesh generation for CFD. The company’s Pointwise software generates structured, unstructured and hybrid meshes; interfaces with CFD solvers, such as ANSYS FLUENT, STAR-CCM+, ANSYS CFX and OpenFOAM as well as many neutral formats, such as CGNS; runs on Windows (Intel and AMD), Linux (Intel and AMD), and Mac, and has a scripting language, Glyph, that can automate CFD meshing. Large manufacturing firms and research organizations worldwide rely on Pointwise as their complete CFD preprocessing solution.

Pointwise is a registered trademark and Pointwise Glyph and T-Rex are trademarks of Pointwise, Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owner.

ADS is a provider of design and analysis software for the turbomachinery industry. Their software suite is built around the aerospace-class CFD solver, Code LEO, an HPC enabled solver capable of handling the most challenging analyses. Organizations trust ADS in the design of their radial and axial compressors and turbines when high fidelity and fast turnaround time are required.